The AI Hype: How Should Africa Respond?
Redefining Africa's AI Future
Several narratives are flying around in our society, but it is essential to keep in mind that these narratives are never neutral. They are deliberate constructs designed to shape perceptions, influence collective thought, and direct action toward specific goals. They don’t merely describe reality; they actively create it.
Renaissance-era Florence understood the power of constructing strategic narratives. Wealthy yet militarily vulnerable and politically isolated, the city invested in ‘hype’, manufacturing the illusion that conquering Florence was not only dangerous but also uncivilized. It elevated itself from a city to a symbol, and in no time, it acquired a perception stronger than its actual position. Even their enemies became captives of their hype. Hype is that powerful. It can be a strategic tool for misdirection.
In today’s technological age, the hype surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) stands out as one of transformation and inevitability. It suggests that AI holds the key to a utopian future of unprecedented economic growth and global prosperity, generating a widespread sense of urgency for nations to "catch up" or risk being left behind.
But is this race for AI adoption truly a pursuit of progress, or is it a carefully orchestrated dependency cycle fueled by strategically constructed hype? For Africa, this is a critical question. While the global narrative champions AI's potential to revolutionize industries and societies, the continent grapples with pressing challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, faltering education systems, and widespread poverty. These narratives often understate the speculative nature of AI’s promises, portraying its impact as inevitable and definitive. While AI indeed has the potential to disrupt and transform, the extent of its actual impact remains uncertain, a truth often overshadowed to encourage unquestioning acceptance.
Technological Determinism: A Flawed Perspective
The framing of AI as an inevitable force that will reshape society is a prime example of technological determinism. This perspective diminishes the role of human agency, overlooking the ability of individuals and communities to shape the development and application of technology actively. In my view, Africa must cut through the AI hype and resist the notion that it is a passive player in the face of AI's rise. The continent must reassert control over its technological journey, fostering critical thinking, creativity, and innovation to ensure AI is a tool to serve its unique needs and aspirations.
Consider past examples where Africa was swept up in similar technological narratives. The Green Revolution, for instance, was hailed as a transformative force for agriculture but fell short of expectations due to unaddressed structural issues. Likewise, the widespread adoption of personal computers in the 1980s and the internet boom of the 1990s did not deliver the promised socioeconomic transformation in regions lacking foundational infrastructure. These lessons underscore the importance of addressing systemic issues before embracing any new technological solution.
The Challenge of Infrastructure and Dependency
Africa currently lacks the infrastructure to adopt and develop AI models at scale. Most AI technologies used across the continent are imported, largely developed in the West. This positions Africa primarily as a consumer rather than a producer of AI solutions, deepening economic dependencies. The value generated from African use of premium AI services, such as advanced natural language models, AI-driven tools, and cloud-based technologies, flows back to Western economies. This mirrors historical patterns of technological dependence, where Africa has often been positioned as a market rather than a center of innovation.
For example, Africa’s infrastructure deficit reduces economic growth by 2% annually and cuts productivity by up to 40%. The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) has identified 69 priority projects, with an estimated cost of $160.8 billion, aimed at addressing transport, energy, water, and digital connectivity. However, these efforts highlight the scale of the challenge, as inadequate infrastructure remains a significant barrier to leveraging AI effectively.
Responding Strategically to the Narrative
The narrative surrounding AI as a game-changer is, to some extent, self-fulfilling. Societies that buy into the inevitability of AI transformation allocate significant investments, further entrenching AI's dominance. However, Africa has the power to disrupt this cycle by taking a proactive approach to its AI journey. The continent must reclaim agency and focus on building indigenous AI capabilities that align with its socioeconomic realities.
To achieve this, Africa must:
Invest in Infrastructure: Prioritize the development of computing power, data centers, and AI research institutions to support homegrown AI development.
Foster Education and Research: Build a robust pipeline of AI talent by investing in educational programs, research institutions, and initiatives that nurture local expertise.
Support Indigenous Innovation: Encourage the creation of contextually relevant AI solutions designed to address Africa’s unique challenges, such as improving access to healthcare, modernizing agriculture, or enhancing education.
Challenge Dominant Narratives: Critically assess and resist externally imposed narratives that position AI as a one-size-fits-all solution. Africa must articulate its own AI ambitions, rooted in its socio-economic context.
Shaping Africa's AI Future
AI will undoubtedly impact Africa, but the nature of this impact is not predetermined. How many jobs it will create or destroy cannot be reduced to global predictions and reports. And quite frankly, AI, as it is being positioned by the prevailing narratives, is not the silver bullet to Africa’s economic woes. Whatever the case, the continent faces a choice: passively accept a role as a consumer or actively shape its technological future. This requires reimagining AI's role in African societies, not as an external inevitability but as a tool for empowerment and progress. We cannot continue to feast on crumbs supplied by strategically constructed hype orchestrated to keep us perpetually in a rat race as consumers. The question remains: Will Africa define its own AI narrative, or will it continue to operate within the expectations set by external forces?
The goal is not just to "catch up" but to redefine the rules entirely. Hype alone is not enough; Africa must chart its own course, leveraging technology as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. AI has come to stay, and if it will benefit us at scale as a continent, we must do things differently, otherwise, we will be left with hype that never truly delivered its potential as it was with other hype-driven solutions.
Works Cited
1. AI and the strategic value of hype
Really appreciated this piece, especially the way it unpacks how narratives shape urgency, funding, and collective action.
I’ve been sitting with the “indigenous AI” section and keep coming back to a question: do we actually need to build the full stack to benefit meaningfully from AI? Or is that a distraction that could pull limited resources into prestige-driven infrastructure projects we may not be able to sustain?
It reminds me of things like the space race or nuclear weapons. Owning the tech can signal power, but that doesn’t always translate to broad, everyday impact. Maybe the smarter move is to focus on use-case depth rather than trying to control the whole pipeline. What if Africa doesn’t need to build the LLMs, but just becomes really good at applying them in contexts no one else understands?
That kind of edge (messy environments, local nuance, real-world constraints) might actually be where the most value sits.
Curious to hear your take. How should we be defining “indigenous AI” in a way that’s actually actionable, not just symbolic?